Juha Sjoeblom Profile

Juha Sjoeblom
Juha Sjoeblom.

I have been interested in world heritage from year 2008 and I have visited sites since then whenever possible. I usually travel 3-5 times a year. My main areas of interest are Northern Africa, Middle East, Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia.

I'm an independent traveller and when travelling, I want to use public transport as much as possible. Since the sites are not always easy to reach, I’m curious how other travellers have got to them.

I’ll write reviews when I supposedly have some fresh point of view or when the site has only very few reviews. I also tell my overall feelings about the site and how I have travelled to it.

Finland Last Update 21.10.19 178 WHS Visited 20 Reviews 175 WHS Rated 41 TWHS Visited

Visited Sites Juha Sjoeblom

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Legend

  • ●● Cultural
  • ●● Natural
  • ●● Mixed

Recent Reviews Juha Sjoeblom

Qadisha Valley

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 25-May-19

Qadisha Valley

Site visited March 2019. Qadisha Valley was the site that I looked forward the most in Lebanon after Baalbek. And it didn’t disappoint my expectations. During my hike I visited three out of four of the main monasteries of the valley and saw some spectacular sceneries. In this review I focus only on the Qadisha Valley, not on the Cedars of God.

The dramatic and rugged Qadisha Valley is one of the oldest and most important early Christian monastic settlements. Valley formed a natural rampart which sheltered these early monastic communities. Maronite hermits found refuge in a multitude of almost inaccessible caves and rock-cut monasteries. Around these shelters the monks and hermits had turned the slopes into terraces to grow grain, grapes and olives.

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Qhapaq Ñan

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 29-Dec-18

Qhapaq Ñan

Site visited April 2018. I visited five inscribed sites of the Peruvian section of the Andean road network.

This WHS all about roads and archaeological sites associated with them. The Qhapaq Ñan road system is one of the most complex road infrastructures in the world. What makes it unique is its extreme geographical setting.

For some reason, this kind of sites are very intriguing for me. Whether it is Silk Roads, Grand Canal, Stećci or Struve, there is something like ’collect all the pieces together’ feeling. At first these inscriptions seem hard to grasp

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Caral-Supe

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 06-Oct-18

Caral-Supe

Site visited April 2018. For me getting to the World Heritage Site of Caral turned out to be agony and race against time but in the end it won over me.

I guess everything worth knowing about this site and its historical importance have been told already on the previous reviews so on my review I focus mainly on my trip to Caral.

My plan was to visit Caral on my way from Huaraz to Lima. I knew this could be a bit tight schedule for one day but I decided to give it a try. I left from Huaraz bus station at 9 AM and was at Barranca four hours later. The bus left me at some gas station outside the city centre so I had to walk quite a long distance with my large suitcase in the mid day heat. During my walk I tried to catch a taxi to Caral. The task proved to be very hard. There were only lots of mototaxis that tooted at me all the time. I thought that those are not suitable for my needs. I saw only few taxi cars and those were reserved. At some point I got tired of walking and trying to catch a taxi. Then I saw a hotel and went to the reception to ask about driver to Caral

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Chavin

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 16-Jul-18

Chavin

Site visited April 2018. After some more touristy sites in Peru, visiting Chavín was a pure pleasure: no crowds, souvenir sellers, touts and high entrance fees – just greenery, fresh mountain air, few tourists and, of course, a great site with nice museum.

Chavín de Huántar is located at the foothills of Cordillera Blanca mountain range at an elevation of 3200 [...]

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Rjukan / Notodden

Juha Sjoeblom Finland - 18-Jul-17

Rjukan / Notodden

Site visited April 2017. Rjukan – Notodden industrial heritage site is located in the beautiful Norwegian landscape. Sometimes I found the landscapes more interesting than the industrial values. This site needs a bit of background research to really understand it.

There are plenty of industrial sites around Nordic countries. Some of them have been inscribed already: Falun, Engelsberg, Røros and Verla. The first question I had, what makes just this site worth of World Heritage status? What qualities it has that the other uninscribed Nordic industrial sites don’t have?

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Profile Data

Name
Juha Sjoeblom
Country
Finland
Most Impressive
Medina of Fez, Lalibela

Recently Visited WHS

Update 21.10.19
  • Hierapolis-Pamukkale
  • Pergamon
  • Ephesus
  • Aphrodisias
    • Rating Stats
    Auschwitz Birkenau 5
    Bukhara 5
    Istanbul 5
    Lalibela 5
    Machu Picchu 5
    Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor 5
    Meidan Emam, Esfahan 5
    Petra 5
    Samarkand 5
    Silk Roads 5
    Simien National Park 5
    Acropolis 4.5
    Baalbek 4.5
    Grand Canal 4.5
    Itchan Kala 4.5
    Medina of Fez 4.5
    Persepolis 4.5
    St. Petersburg 4.5
    Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 4.5
    Aachen Cathedral 4
    Aksum 4
    Amphitheater of El Jem 4
    Aphrodisias 4
    Byblos 4
    Caral-Supe 4
    Chavin 4
    Cracow 4
    Djémila 4
    Dougga/Thugga 4
    Ephesus 4
    Fasil Ghebbi 4
    Hierapolis-Pamukkale 4
    Kotor 4
    Kremlin and Red Square 4
    Longmen Grottoes 4
    M'Zab Valley 4
    Masjed-e Jâme' 4
    Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi 4
    Medina of Marrakesh 4
    Pergamon 4
    Ping Yao 4
    Plitvice Lakes 4
    Split 4
    Timgad 4
    Trier 4
    Tyre 4
    Upper Middle Rhine Valley 4
    West Norwegian Fjords 4
    Wudang Mountains 4
    Agrigento 3.5
    Cuzco 3.5
    Dengfeng 3.5
    Falun Great Copper Mountain 3.5
    Gamzigrad-Romuliana 3.5
    Haghpat and Sanahin 3.5
    Huascaran National Park 3.5
    Island of Patmos 3.5
    Kairouan 3.5
    Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 3.5
    Kyiv 3.5
    L'viv 3.5
    Lima 3.5
    Mont-Saint-Michel 3.5
    Paris, Banks of the Seine 3.5
    Pasargadae 3.5
    Persian Garden 3.5
    Qadisha Valley 3.5
    Qhapaq Ñan 3.5
    Rabat 3.5
    Sintra 3.5
    Statue of Liberty 3.5
    Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.5
    Venetian Works of Defence 3.5
    Vilnius 3.5
    Visby 3.5
    Volubilis 3.5
    White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal 3.5
    Altamira Cave 3
    Amsterdam Canal Ring 3
    Anjar 3
    Archaeological Site of Aigai 3
    Arles 3
    Avignon 3
    Bauhaus Sites 3
    Belem 3
    Berat and Gjirokastra 3
    Bryggen 3
    Burgos Cathedral 3
    Butrint 3
    Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 3
    Cologne Cathedral 3
    Corfu 3
    Delos 3
    Drottningholm 3
    Echmiatsin and Zvartnots 3
    Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 3
    Gobustan Rock Art 3
    Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 3
    Kew Gardens 3
    Kronborg Castle 3
    Maritime Greenwich 3
    Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 3
    Medina of Essaouira 3
    Medina of Tunis 3
    Meknes 3
    Monastery of Geghard 3
    Mostar 3
    Mtskheta 3
    Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3
    Novodevichy Convent 3
    Ohrid Region 3
    Old Rauma 3
    Petäjävesi Old Church 3
    Quseir Amra 3
    Roskilde Cathedral 3
    Schönbrunn 3
    Site of Carthage 3
    Skogskyrkogarden 3
    Stari Ras and Sopocani 3
    Stevns Klint 3
    Stećci 3
    Studenica Monastery 3
    Syracuse 3
    Tallinn 3
    Tauric Chersonese 3
    Thessalonika 3
    Trogir 3
    Urnes Stave Church 3
    Val di Noto 3
    Verla Groundwood and Board Mill 3
    Vienna 3
    Vizcaya Bridge 3
    Walled City of Baku 3
    Westminster 3
    Arab-Norman Palermo 2.5
    Asturian Monuments 2.5
    Atapuerca 2.5
    Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 2.5
    Birka and Hovgarden 2.5
    Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 2.5
    Curonian Spit 2.5
    Engelsberg Ironworks 2.5
    Gammelstad 2.5
    High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago 2.5
    Jelling 2.5
    Kasbah of Algiers 2.5
    Luther Memorials 2.5
    Medina of Sousse 2.5
    Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans 2.5
    Riga 2.5
    Rjukan / Notodden 2.5
    Shakhrisyabz 2.5
    Sheki 2.5
    Sulaiman-Too 2.5
    Tipasa 2.5
    Tower of London 2.5
    Yin Xu 2.5
    Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 2
    Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 2
    Fortress of Suomenlinna 2
    Golestan Palace 2
    Grand Place, Brussels 2
    Kernavë 2
    Laurisilva of Madeira 2
    Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge 2
    Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos 2
    Sammallahdenmäki 2
    Stari Grad Plain 2
    Um er-Rasas 2
    Yuso and Suso Monasteries 2
    Zollverein 2
    Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 1.5
    Mir Castle 1.5
    Tiya 1.5
    Nesvizh 1
    Primeval Beech Forests
    Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
    Struve Geodetic Arc
    1. Amalienborg and its district (T)
    2. Ancient Greek Theatres (T)
    3. Archaeological site of Laodikeia (T)
    4. Bagçesaray Palace of the Crimean Khans (T)
    5. Brooklyn Bridge (T)
    6. Casablanca, Ville du XXème siécle, carrefour d'influences (T)
    7. Central Park (T)
    8. City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
    9. Cultural Landscape of Canyon in Kamenets-Podilsk (T)
    10. Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of Split (extension) (T)
    11. Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
    12. Jame' (Congregational) Mosque of Esfahan (T)
    13. Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
    14. Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral with Related Monastic Buildings, St. Cyril's and St. Andrew's Churches, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (T)
    15. Levadas of Madeira Island (T)
    16. Monastery of St. Amenaprkich (New Julfa Vank) (T)
    17. Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
    18. Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab (T)
    19. Paimio Hospital (formerly Paimio Sanatorium) (T)
    20. Persepolis and other relevant buildings (T)
    21. Pombaline Lisbon (T)
    22. Rade de Marseille (T)
    23. Salt Mines of Maras (T)
    24. Sarajevo - unique symbol of universal multiculture - continual open city (T)
    25. Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to Dogubeyazit (T)
    26. Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid (T)
    27. Sites of Globalization (T)
    28. Surakhany, Atashgyakh (Fire - worshippers, temple - museum at Surakhany) (T)
    29. Tape Sialk (T)
    30. Tbilisi Historic District (T)
    31. The Carvings from historic time at the island of Gaddtarmen (Hauensuoli) (T)
    32. The Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions (T)
    33. The historical surroundings of Crimean Khans' capital in Bakhchysarai (T)
    34. The Historical Village of Abyaneh (T)
    35. The Historical-Cultural Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan (T)
    36. The monastery of Noravank and the upper Amaghou Valley (T)
    37. The Persian House in Central plateau of Iran (T)
    38. The Tara National Park with the Drina River Canyon (T)
    39. The Zandiyeh Ensemble of Fars Province (T)
    40. Trakai Historical National Park (T)
    41. Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)

    Reviewed TWHS

    Top 50 Missing Sites

    1. Baikonur Cosmodrome / Cape Canaveral
    2. City of Herat
    3. Ensemble du site naturel de la région du Chouf avec les monuments et les sites
    4. Ephesus
    5. Fortified City of Famagusta
    6. Golden Gate Bridge
    7. Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge
    8. Jebel Shams, Wadi Nakhur, and Wadi Ghul
    9. Major Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright
    10. Minoan palaces of Crete
    11. Panama Canal
    12. Pharaonic Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu
    13. Railways of the Andes
    14. Silk Roads
    15. Svalbard
    16. Tempelhof Airport, Berlin
    17. Tobolsk
    18. Transiberian Railway
    19. Vatnajökull National Park
    20. Vers une architecture: Major Buildings of Le Corbusier

    Top 200 WHS

    1. Isole Eolie
    2. Birka and Hovgarden
    3. L'Anse aux Meadows
    4. Brasilia
    5. Shibam
    6. Sana'a
    7. Old City of Jerusalem
    8. Rome
    9. Istanbul
    10. Venice and its Lagoon
    11. Camino Real
    12. Island of Gorée
    13. Grand Canal
    14. Qhapaq Ñan
    15. Silk Roads
    16. Moenjodaro
    17. Sukhothai
    18. Angkor
    19. Rock Art of Alta
    20. Altamira Cave
    21. Iguazu National Park
    22. Lake Baikal
    23. Victoria Falls
    24. Kenya Lake System
    25. Central Amazon Conservation Complex
    26. Works of Antoni Gaudí
    27. Nasca Lines
    28. Stonehenge
    29. Chichen-Itza
    30. Tikal National Park
    31. St. Petersburg
    32. Florence
    33. Tyre
    34. Site of Carthage
    35. Classical Gardens of Suzhou
    36. Wadi Al-Hitan
    37. Fasil Ghebbi
    38. Versailles
    39. Imperial Palace
    40. Ancient Merv
    41. Palmyra
    42. Petra
    43. Persepolis
    44. Rwenzori Mountains
    45. Tajik National Park
    46. Simien National Park
    47. Great Himalayan National Park
    48. Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
    49. Machu Picchu
    50. Kilimanjaro National Park
    51. Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
    52. Fortified City of Carcassonne
    53. Great Wall
    54. Agra Fort
    55. Robben Island
    56. Statue of Liberty
    57. Auschwitz Birkenau
    58. Vilnius
    59. Old City of Berne
    60. Cesky Krumlov
    61. Brugge
    62. Cracow
    63. Dubrovnik
    64. Liverpool
    65. Bryggen
    66. Maritime Greenwich
    67. Great Barrier Reef
    68. Cuzco
    69. Ha Long Bay
    70. Soltaniyeh
    71. Selimiye Mosque
    72. Meidan Emam, Esfahan
    73. Ilulissat Icefjord
    74. Virgin Komi Forests
    75. Tropical Rainforest Sumatra
    76. Serengeti
    77. Ngorongoro
    78. Yellowstone
    79. Galapagos Islands
    80. Ancient Kyoto
    81. Völklingen Ironworks
    82. Falun Great Copper Mountain
    83. Ironbridge Gorge
    84. Grand Canyon
    85. Ancient Thebes
    86. Salamanca
    87. Dengfeng
    88. Jantar Mantar
    89. Virunga National Park
    90. Tassili n'Ajjer
    91. Namib Sand Sea
    92. Costiera Amalfitana
    93. Orkhon Valley
    94. Kew Gardens
    95. Persian Garden
    96. Wadi Rum
    97. Quito
    98. Meroe
    99. Great Zimbabwe Ruins
    100. Kremlin and Red Square
    101. Sydney Opera House
    102. Mount Athos
    103. Westminster
    104. Saint Catherine Area
    105. Piazza del Duomo (Pisa)
    106. Vatican City
    107. Ravenna
    108. Lalibela
    109. Aachen Cathedral
    110. Göreme NP
    111. Imperial Tombs
    112. Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
    113. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
    114. Taj Mahal
    115. Pyramids (Memphis)
    116. Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha
    117. Mogao Caves
    118. Potala Palace
    119. Kathmandu Valley
    120. Bukhara
    121. Ping Yao
    122. Samarkand
    123. Medina of Fez
    124. Kairouan
    125. Medina of Marrakesh
    126. Damascus
    127. Historic Cairo
    128. Timgad
    129. Dougga/Thugga
    130. Frontiers of the Roman Empire
    131. Pont du Gard
    132. Leptis Magna
    133. Pompei
    134. Villa Romana del Casale
    135. Cyrene
    136. Agrigento
    137. Acropolis
    138. Olympia
    139. Timbuktu
    140. Ghadames
    141. Aksum
    142. Volcanoes of Kamchatka
    143. Mount Etna
    144. Surtsey